It can be a difficult decision to decide if you want to get a tutor for your young person or not. You may be torn about whether it fits with your values when you think that they should get the best education from school. Is it a money pit?  Every parent wants to do the best for their child, so how do you know if this is the right thing to do?

There are many reasons (as discussed in my previous blog post) as to why you might decide to get a tutor.

Needing a tutor is not a sign of a bad education it’s a sign that we are all different. Sometimes some people need a little bit more help than others.

Last week we were chatting in the Teacher Parent Knowledge Exchange about tutoring and lots of things came up which demonstrated the diverse reasons that people employ tutors:

• Your young person might not want you to help them with their maths 
• Your young person feels you confuse them when you help them
• You need someone who can demonstrate different methods
• You don’t feel confident with knowing how to help them
• You don’t have the time that they need to invest in helping them with their subjects
• To reduce the stress around GCSE maths exams

Some of the benefits of getting a tutor are:

Improvements at School

Extra reinforcement of the teaching in class can result in improved confidence. Some tutors will get the order of topics from the school and go over them first, others will go over them afterwards. Being successful in the tutoring sessions can really help the young person be successful in school and changes their mindset.

Having a tutor gives the tutee someone to ask questions, which they might perceive as silly, without feeling embarrassed in class. There isn’t always time at school to ask the teacher, especially as teachers are under pressure to cover a lot of content.

Advice from a ‘teacher on tap’

Having a tutor gives you access to personalised advice about the young person’s education. I’ve answered questions on exam tiers, difficulties, how to tackle a situation at school and more.

A tutor can be a second professional opinion for the exam your young person is being entered for or their predicted grade. They can help you understand the structure of the maths GCSE and give you educational support.

If you are uncertain about when they should be revising, or what they need to work on the tutor will have a clear idea. Because it is 1:1 or small group, the tutor gets to understand the young person better than a teacher often can. They can point you at resources that your young person needs.

I use some of the methods that I used at school (and will be teaching in the Skills4Parents membership community) with those that I tutor, to record and demonstrate the weak areas of their maths and using shared online platforms I record videos and share this with my tutees and their parents.

Boundaried time to work on Maths in a different way

Setting aside the time and having it diarised means extra maths doesn’t get pushed out by other areas of life. A lot of young people and their families have busy schedules. By employing a tutor with a regular slot you have a protected slot to do maths in. This can be really useful if it is something that a young person will try to put off doing and find excuses.

It’s a different relationship to either teacher or parent and so the young person often has a different mindset to what they have in school. This can make tutoring a more positive experience than school or working at home.

I hope this gives you an understanding of why you might decide to get a tutor. There is no easy answer about whether you need to get a tutor.

Next week I will be discussing some alternatives to getting a tutor. Remember, it doesn’t have to be a long term decision, and all tutors should offer a taster session first. I will always have a phone call/zoom call with a parent first to see if I think I am a good fit, and then I will run a free no-obligation session.

Alongside my usual hourly rate I will be launching different tutoring packages from next week. I’m really excited about this as it will give you an idea of what I can offer and what you might need. If you’d like to have a chat with me about whether I might be the right person to tutor your young person then get in touch. I’m really nice to chat to, I promise!